Tag Archives: Jefferson Davis

End Year Short Rounds: Frankenstein, Merlin, and Stephen Douglas

Posted on December 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

Although I ostensibly took a break from the blog on Christmas eve to focus on real life and all that, part of my brain is resolutely blog-oriented and insisted I keep reading so that I did not fail the Science … Continue reading →

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And this is why we do not discuss politics at Christmas lunch

Posted on December 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

(Yes, yes, I know I’m taking a break, but I read this today and it was too funny and too appropriate to leave alone.) “On December 25, 1847, one day after Cass wrote to Nicholson, [Jefferson] Davis confronted colleague Henry … Continue reading →

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The Expatriation of Franklin Pierce

Posted on December 16, 2025 by smellincoffee

Continuing in the tragedy of Franklin Pierce, I chose to follow a short biography of him with this, a more focused look Pierce’s exit from the presidency, when he found himself wholly isolated. Four years ago, he had earned a … Continue reading →

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Confederate Women

Posted on December 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

Continuing in my march through Bell Irwin Wiley’s social histories of the Civil War,   I bought Confederate Women immediately after reading Billy Yank.    Confederate Women looks at the diaries and letters of three socially prominent southern belles and … Continue reading →

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